Black and Blue
by ooOaceOoo
Summary: When she was 10, Violet was taken to a carnival. There she meets a strange clown she cannot forget, but as magical as he is, the clown Shiro is also a killer. Eight years later, they meet again. Is Shiro the monster Vi thought he was? Or something more?


_Hi everyone. This is just a little something I've been working on for a while, and what better way to proofread and get feedback than putting it on FanFiction? This is my first full-length story and fanfic upload, so don't hold back on the criticism (though hateful comments will not be incredibly appreciated). It's not a fanfic per se, though the character "Shiro" is greatly influenced by the character of the same name in Bleach (also known as "Shirosaki", "Ogichi", "Hicihgo"). The story idea was also inspired by the fanfic "Crazy Clown" by AltricTempus. The beginning bears a lot of resemblance to the beginning of "Crazy Clown", but hopefully not the point where it seems plagerized. After all, "Crazy Clown" simply got my creative wheels turning, and is by no means copied from. _

_P.S Thanks for taking the time to read :)_

**Black & Blue**

**Chapter 1: The Clown**

"Come on Vi, it'll be so much fun!" Cathy whined. Violet looked up from her desk at her best friend who was pouting stubbornly. Her blonde hair was piled into a messy bun at the top of her head, and she noticed her brown roots poking through again. Vi didn't understand how her friend could bleach her hair over and over and _over_. It was starting to look like straw. Vi's hair, on the other hand, was short and black, her natural hair color. She went back to work on her math.

"I have no interest watching those poor people being put on display like that" Vi frowned, "It even says on the flyer: 'Come see the most horrifying freaks around'. We should be calling the police". Cathy thrust the flyer underneath Vi's nose with a huff. Pointing at it, she proudly crowed: "No, look! It says: 'Come to the _Black Moon _circus, the home of the world's most fantastic humans!' There's nothing about freaks on here!". Vi sighed, gently pushing the paper away.

A circus had recently come into town, and ever since Cathy's friend excitedly retold the class about the rumors of vampires and mermaids on display, Cathy wouldn't shut up about going. _I bet she wants to go just to find some vampire. This is why I hate Twilight. And I hate circuses. _

Ever since Vi went to a circus when she was ten, she hated them. Especially clowns. Her mom had taken her to the circus that had just come into town, and in a rush of excitement, Vi ran off into the carnival. She soon became lost in a mirror maze, the many mirrors reflecting her terrified face back at her. It was so dark. The music of the carnival was barely heard, the silence suffocating. She thought she was going to die alone in the dark, until she heard a voice behind her.

"Are ya lost, little girl?"

As Vi turned, she came face to face with the strangest clown she had ever seen. His skin and hair was stark white, and he was dressed in puffy clown pants that ended just above the knee and a long, black button up coat. On his head was a velvety black top hat. But Vi wasn't staring at his clothes. She stared at his eyes. They were black were they should've been white, and his pupils were a brilliant gold. He smiled amusedly down at the little girl. "Did ya lose your mommy, kid?" he repeated.

Strangely, Vi wasn't scared. She was just glad she wasn't alone anymore. Tears bubbling in her eyes, she nodded. The white clown chuckled and held out his hand. "Alright kid, come with me" he smiled gently. Vi looked at his hand suspiciously. Her mom had always told her never to go with strangers. But he worked at the carnival. She looked at his face again. He was staring curiously down at her. He seemed to be a nice person, she decided. Vi took hold of his hand with both of her own and clung close to him. "Don't lose me" she said worriedly. The clown chuckled again as they began walking. "_This kid is so adorable"_ he thought.

The girl looked up at him again. He smiled back down. "What's your name kid?" She smiled brightly, "I'm Vi! What's your name?" The clown let go of Vi's hand and stepped back a moment. As if praying, he placed his hands together. Suddenly, a bright light glowed in his hands, and he plucked a blue rose out of the air. "I am the one and only Shirosaki! The king of illusions and trickery! At your service" He bowed, offering Vi the rose. She clapped excitedly and grabbed the rose out of his hand. "So pretty! So pretty!" she cried in delight. He grinned at her happiness. "_I thought I hated kids, but she's so cute!" _He internally squealed. "Thank you Shirosac-…Shios-..Shi?" she stuttered at his complicated name. He laughed "It's okay, Vi, just call me Shiro. It's a little nickname I've gotten over the years."

Vi smiled. "Thank you, Shiro."

After Vi had been reunited with her mom she had promised Shiro to return the next day to visit him, much to his chagrin. But the next morning when she turned on the T.V at home, there was an urgent news report. "Last night near Dunmer Street a body of a young woman was found dead in the alleyway. Cause of death is still unknown, and police cannot find any signs of struggle or theft. The family was notified early this morning"

"Dunmer Street?" her mom exclaimed, "That's only a few blocks away!"

The report went on: "There are some rumors surrounding the appearance of a circus in correspondence to the death. The victim in question was last seen at this circus in the company of one of the performers. The performer was male, and said to have very pale skin and silver hair, dressed in traditional clown garb. If anyone has information on the suspect's whereabouts, please call the authorities immediately."

Vi's mom turned the T.V off quickly. She definitely had not forgotten the strange clown who had saved her daughter. "Vi, honey, I think it's best we don't return to the circus" she frowned. Vi stared quietly at the blank T.V screen. Her ten-year-old mind couldn't comprehend it. Shiro wouldn't hurt anyone…would he? But he was her friend. She turned to her mom, tears in her eyes. "Shiro didn't do it Mom" she burst out, "He wouldn't! He's nice and funny and magical! He helps people!" Her mom looked sadly at her daughter. Vi had been talking non-stop about this "Shiro" all night. "Vi…" she began slowly, "You only just met…Shiro. You don't know what he's like. He might be a bad person."

"You're wrong!" Vi yelled. "I'll find Shiro myself and prove it!"

Vi ran out the door, deaf to the frantic calling from her mother. She ran as fast as her short legs could carry her down the street to the circus. It was still closed since it was early morning. Shiro was nowhere to be seen. In fact, she couldn't find anybody. The place was deserted. She felt tears well up in her eyes. She would never find him.

Suddenly, something small and blue fluttered past her and floated to the ground. It was a blue flower petal. A petal from a rose. Vi turned to the direction it came from, and saw more petals on the ground, making a small trail towards the forest the circus sat just outside of. She followed the trail without a second thought.

It was cool in dark under the trees of the forest. Her mom had always told her never to go in there, because there were dangerous, wild animals and Vi could easily get lost. But the trail of petals went on, like the trail of cookie crumbs from _Hansel and Gretel_. She called out Shiro's name over and over, but he never answered. "_Maybe he's not even here"_, she thought sadly. She had come all this way for nothing. "_Shiro, I know you didn't do it. Please come out. Please find me again"._ Vi sat down and felt tears running down her face. The forest pressed all around her, unknown animals running through the underbrush. Vi shivered. "_I'm scared. I wanna go home. _I'm scared Shiro. Take me home. I want to go home" she bawled, hiding her face in her hands.

"Vi".

She spun around, a happy grin on her face. "_I knew he would come for me!", _She thought happily. But she froze when she saw him. There was a thin splattering of blood on his pants. Shiro wore an expressionless mask. "You shouldn't have come. You should've stayed away like everyone else".

Vi slowly stood up, her knees shaking. "Shiro…you didn't…hurt that lady, did you?" she whispered. He said nothing, but she noticed he wouldn't look at her eyes. She suddenly felt very scared. He took a step towards her. She took a step back, too scared to run. Shiro sighed. "Let me take you home, Vi. I won't hurt you". She just stood there watching him. After a long silence she finally said: "Promise you won't hurt me?"

"I promise."

Shiro had taken Vi back to the circus immediately after that, and then vanished without a word, leaving only a blue rose behind. Vi ran home to her frantic mother, who had called the police after Vi had run off. The police questioned her, but Vi couldn't tell them anything useful. She later heard one of the officers saying that the circus itself had vanished when he went to visit it shortly after Vi was found. "_Maybe it was all a dream", _she thought. But the blue rose in her hand was real.

Ever since then, Vi had been afraid of the circus.

* * *

Cathy was still pouting about the circus as she and Vi left class. "Cathy, give up. There's no vampire there" Vi growled. Cathy blushed, mumbling something about not believing in vampires. "It'll be fun Vi," she spoke up when they got to the school entrance, "I know you have this weird phobia of circuses or whatever, but isn't that all the more reason to go? It's basic psychology! Facing your fears and all that" she rambled. Vi sighed and looked at her friend. Cathy was air-headed, but she was also sincere. If she believed going to the circus would help Vi, then she wouldn't let it go. "_It'll just be easier to go_. Alright, we'll go tomorrow night" Vi moaned, resigned. Cathy squealed and caught Vi in a bear hug. "You won't regret this!" Cathy laughed. Vi rolled her eyes. "_I already am. _She suddenly felt a chill.

"_There are thousands of circuses, what are the chances of it being THAT circus?"_

That night Vi had a dream about Shiro. All she remembered was him covered in blue roses, and he held out one rose for her to take. She tried to look into his eyes, but they were shadowed by the brim of his top hat. All she could see were the golden orbs peering at her through the darkness. Instead of reaching for the rose, Vi tried to stretch her hand towards Shiro himself, wanting to take his hat off. The orbs widened in surprise. Just as Vi was about to rip that ridiculous hat off Shiro's head, she woke up. The dream unnerved her. "_Now because of that stupid circus I'm remembering him again. Honestly, I need to get my head on straight. He's a killer. He never denied killing that woman. I'm lucky he didn't kill me back in the woods"._

Vi yawned and stretched as she climbed out of bed. Her room was small but bright, painted in a cool, light blue and occupied by a comfy twin bed, a dark blue bean bag chair, a small bookshelf, and a cluttered white desk. There was a small window that overlooked her street and was just high enough to see over the roof of the house across the small road. Beyond this roof she could see a large soccer field bordering the residential river that flowed across town into the bay a mile or so from Vi's house. She loved the view when she was younger, but now she couldn't bear to look outside because her window also gave a substantial view of the large forest where she had last seen Shiro. But today it was beautifully sunny, and Vi was determined to not let any thoughts of that clown ruin her day.

She was planning to meet Cathy at noon, and since it was only nine Vi had plenty of time to get ready. Cathy wanted to go shopping before going to the circus, and also invited Vi over for dinner after the mall. "_She's probably getting some pretty clothes in case we run into any cute guys"_. Vi couldn't be bothered. Meeting and dating someone was too tedious. She just couldn't find any enjoyment in it. And after being on the phone for hours after Cathy's every single breakup to support and comfort, Vi decided relationships just weren't worth it.

Despite not caring teenage love, Vi took great pride in her appearance for reasons other than trying to catch the attention of boys. Looking presentable was almost an art form in its own way. If there was anything girly about Vi, it was makeup. She loved to create the most striking (and sometimes outlandish) makeup looks almost every day. Her love of painting and drawing slowly became submerged in the art of cosmetics, and Cathy was always jealous of Vi's perfect pout or impossibly long eyelashes. Today Vi decided to just give her eyes some exaggerated black eyeliner to create the perfect cat eye. Leaving the rest of her face bare, she straightened and held her short hair off her face with bobby pins, and dressed in a fitted white hoodie with grey skinny jeans. Slipping on her favourite black combat boots, Vi felt the simple satisfaction of a job well done flow through her. But something wasn't quite…right. Her hair. Something in her hair would look perfect. A clip maybe, or a flower.

"_A flower"._

She slowly turned and looked at her bed. Walking over, she crouched down on the floor and reached under it. She felt dust bunnies tickle her fingers as she blindly searched for the object she was looking for. After a few seconds her fingers suddenly bumped against something hard and splintery. Grabbing the small square object, Vi pulled out a wooden box. Brushing the dust off its rough surface, she studied the top. It was painted haphazardly and wildly, with terribly proportioned flowers and butterflies peppering on all sides. On the top in messy writing "Vi's Secret Box" was scrawled in crayon. This had been her treasure box since she was a little girl. She hadn't opened it in years. Gently lifting the lid, she could discern why. In the middle of the box, among all the old photos and drawings of her childhood, was a perfect blue rose. It looked freshly plucked and brimming with life. "_Seven years and it doesn't look a day old"_. Carefully picking it up (lest it suddenly turn to dust) Vi studied the flower and softly ran her finger over the petals. They were velvety smooth, the rich cerulean blue bright and deep. Walking to the small mirror on her desk, she carefully inserted the flower just above her left ear in her hair. Stepping back and taking a look, Vi gasped. It looked perfect! The pop of blue brought out the color of her ice blue eyes, giving her a striking appearance.

"_You look beautiful"._

Vi spun around, wildly looking around the room. "_I could've sworn that…nah, that's impossible". _But Vi couldn't shake the feeling that someone was behind her a moment ago. She shivered. The thought that she had refused to finish still haunted her mind. "_I could've sworn that…"_

"_He was there right behind me". _


End file.
